Directions (Miles Davis album)

Directions
File:Miles Davis Directions.jpg
Compilation album by Miles Davis
Released	1981
Recorded	1960–70
Genre	Jazz fusion
Length	94:26
Label	Columbia
Producer	Teo Macero
Miles Davis chronology
Circle in the Round (1979)Circle in the Round1979 Directions (1981) The Man with the Horn (1981)The Man with the Horn1981

Directions is a compilation album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1981 by Columbia Records. It collects previously unreleased outtakes that Davis recorded between 1960 and 1970. Directions was the last of a series of compilation albums of Davis' music that Columbia released to bridge the hiatus that ended with The Man with the Horn in July 1981.

Music

Directions is a double album that features previously unreleased outtakes recorded over a 10-year period by Davis. Apart from "Song of Our Country" from the recording sessions for Sketches of Spain (1960), a 1961 recording of "'Round Midnight", and "So Near, So Far" from 1963, the album's songs are from Davis' transitional period during 1967 to 1970, when he was experimenting with a fusion of jazz and rock. They feature sidemen such as saxophonist Wayne Shorter, guitarist John McLaughlin, and keyboardists Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul, and Chick Corea.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide
The Rolling Stone Album Guide

In his review of the CD reissue for Allmusic, critic Scott Yanow gave Directions two-and-a-half out of five stars and said that, although some of the tracks "ramble on a bit too long", the music is "mostly quite fascinating" and "highly recommend[able] to collectors with an open ear toward fusion." J. D. Considine gave the album four out of five stars in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004).

Track listing

Side One

1. "Song of Our Country" (Heitor Villa-Lobos) - 3:27
2. "'Round Midnight" (Thelonious Monk, Cootie Williams, Bernie Hanighen) - 7:44
3. "So Near, So Far" (Tony Crombie, Bennie Green) - 5:18
4. "Limbo" (Wayne Shorter) - 5:33

Side Two

1. "Water on the Pond" (Miles Davis) - 7:04
2. "Fun" (Davis) 4:12
3. "Directions, No. 1" (Joe Zawinul) - 6:51
4. "Directions, No. 2" (Zawinul) - 4:51

Side Three

1. "Ascent" (Zawinul) - 14:44
2. "Duran" (Davis) - 11:00

Side Four

1. "Konda" (Davis) - 14:10
2. "Willie Nelson" (Davis) - 10:21

Personnel

"Song of Our Country", recorded in New York, March 11, 1960. (Reissued on 1997 CD release of Sketches of Spain.)

• Miles Davis – trumpet, flugelhorn
• Gil Evans – arranger, conductor
• Johnny Coles, Bernie Glow, Ernie Royal – trumpet
• James Buffington, Tony Miranda, Joe Singer – French horn
• Frank Rehak, Dick Hixon – trombone
• Bill Barber – tuba
• Albert Block, Harold Feldman – flute
• Danny Bank – clarinet
• Jack Knitzer – bassoon
• Romeo Penque – oboe
• Janet Putnam – harp
• Paul Chambers – bass
• Jimmy Cobb – drums
• Elvin Jones – percussion

"'Round Midnight", recorded live at "The Blackhawk" in San Francisco, April 22, 1961. (Reissued on 2003 CD release of In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete)

• Miles Davis – trumpet
• Hank Mobley – tenor saxophone
• Wynton Kelly – piano
• Paul Chambers – bass
• Jimmy Cobb – drums

"So Near, So Far", recorded in Hollywood, Ca., April 16, 1963. (Reissued on the first CD of the 2004 box set Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis 1963–1964, as well as on the 2005 CD re-release of Seven Steps to Heaven.)

• Miles Davis – trumpet
• George Coleman – tenor saxophone
• Victor Feldman – piano
• Ron Carter – bass
• Frank Butler – drums

"Limbo", recorded in Hollywood, Ca., May 9, 1967. (Reissued on the 1998 CD re-release of Sorcerer, as well as on the second CD of 1998 box set release The Complete Studio Recordings of The Miles Davis Quintet 1965–1968)

• Miles Davis – trumpet
• Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone
• Herbie Hancock – Wurlitzer electric piano
• Ron Carter – bass
• Tony Williams – drums

"Water on the Pond", recorded in New York, December 28, 1967. (Reissued on the fourth CD of the 1998 box set release Miles Davis Quintet 1965–'68)

• Miles Davis – trumpet
• Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone
• Herbie Hancock – Wurlitzer electric piano
• Joe Beck – guitar
• Ron Carter – bass
• Tony Williams – drums

"Fun", recorded in New York, January 11, 1968. (Reissued on the fourth CD of the 1998 box set release Miles Davis Quintet 1965–'68)

• Miles Davis – trumpet
• Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone
• Herbie Hancock – Wurlitzer electric piano
• Bucky Pizzarelli – electric guitar
• Ron Carter – bass
• Tony Williams – drums

"Directions I & II" and "Ascent", recorded in New York, November 27, 1968. (All three tracks were reissued on the second CD of the 2001 box set release of The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions)

• Miles Davis – trumpet
• Wayne Shorter – soprano saxophone
• Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea – electric piano
• Joe Zawinul – piano
• Dave Holland – electric bass
• Jack DeJohnette – drums

"Duran", recorded in New York, February 17, 1970. (Reissued as "Duran (Take 6)" on the second CD of 2003 box set release The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions)

• Miles Davis – trumpet
• Wayne Shorter – soprano saxophone
• Bennie Maupin – bass clarinet
• John McLaughlin – electric guitar
• Dave Holland – electric bass
• Billy Cobham – drums

"Konda", recorded in New York, May 21, 1970. (The unedited version of the track was issued on disc 4 of the 2003 box set release The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions.)

• Miles Davis – trumpet
• Keith Jarrett – electric piano
• John McLaughlin – electric guitar
• Airto Moreira – percussion

"Willie Nelson", recorded in New York, February 27, 1970. (Reissued on the first CD of the 2003 box set release The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions)

• Miles Davis – trumpet
• Steve Grossman – soprano saxophone
• John McLaughlin – electric guitar
• Dave Holland – electric bass
• Jack DeJohnette – drums

External links

• Directions at Discogs (list of releases)
• Directions on Jazzdisco.org